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Past Two Weeks

July 22

Celebrations and tributes flow in
He handed it back just days ago, but a dazzling win ensured the British Open claret jug will once again take pride of place on Padraig Harrington's kitchen table. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Glyn Kirk for Getty Images

Back from the brink, Red Kites return
Just a handful of journalists and photographers witnessed the historic return of the Red Kite to the north of Ireland. The RSPB released 27 chicks in what is the first ever species reintroduction. For more details, please click BBC.

Dublin singer scoops BBC Jazz award
Dublin singer Christine Tobin has won the Best Vocalist 2008 Award at a ceremony at London's Mermaid Theatre. For more on this news item, please click RTE.

Back in the splash
They thought it was closed for good - but they were wrong. The sea water Rock Pool in Newcastle that played hosts to generations of swimmers has reopened. For more details, please click BBC.

John “Red” Kelly’s cottage to be restored
Irish human rights barrister and writer Brendan Kilty, SC, will pay for the restoration of the farmhouse in Tipperary, from which Ned's father, John "Red" Kelly, stole two pigs; an act that led the Kellys to end up in Australia. For more details, please click Herald Sun.

Meet Simon Kennedy, Master, Blá na Mara
Having seen his last fishing boat damaged and sunk in 2002, Simon did his skipper's ticket and started working with Rory Beattie at Galway docks in the summer 2003. Since then, he has been the ships' master of the Blá na Mara boat that carries cargo to the Aran Islands. For more on this story, please click Galway Independent.

Ireland wins Robot World Cup
Amid all the celebrations over Padraig Harrington, it may have gone unnoticed that Ireland won a soccer world cup on Sunday. But then these players were never going to crow about their victory. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

July 21

Harrington wins!
On a Royal Birkdale course and in winds that tested everybody to the limit, two birdies and an eagle in the last six holes made Harrington the first European to make a successful defence of the Claret Jug since James Braid in 1906. For more details, please click RTE.
Related story: It’s even sweeter the second time around
Harrington’s Open in pictures

Signed CS Lewis books sell for £30,000
Three signed first edition copies of books by Belfast-born Chronicles of Narnia author, CS Lewis, have sold for a total of £30,000 — more than three times what they were expected to fetch — at an auction. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Artist Quote if the Day

The show goes on
Eighty thousand people packed the streets of Galway city last night as the country's biggest arts festival reached its climax. For details, please click Irish Independent.

Spire gets its sparkle back
The lights had not been working for the last number of months, but yesterday, Dublin’s Spire got its sparkle back after worker made repairs on top of the landmark monument. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo credit: Dawn K

Dive at Lusitania wreck could solve 93-year mystery behind sinking
Experts will this morning begin a week-long project to film and photograph in detail for the first time the remains of one of the country’s best-known wrecks, which lies in 300 feet of water 25 nautical miles south of the Old Head of Kinsale. For more, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit: Great Ocean Liners

Saved from demolition, now the Rotterdam is a celeb hangout
TV and film star James Nesbitt took cast and crew members from the new Belfast drama Cherrybomb to the city’s newly reopened Rotterdam Bar to celebrate its reprieve from the bulldozer. For details, please click Belfast Telegraph.

‘Smurf' world record at Castleblayney
The town of Castleblayney, in Co Monaghan is now in the Guinness Book of Records for the most Smurfs in the one place. The 50th anniversary of the cult cartoon characters was celebrated last Friday with over 1,000 people turning up at the town’s Muckno Mania Festival to try and break the record. For more details, please click Irish World.

July 20

Harrington well positioned
Ireland's Padraig Harrington is in second place going into the final round of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. He will be in the first doubles to tee off Sunday morning along with third-round leader Greg Norman.To follow the action, please click Open Golf.

Pope ends World Youth festivities
Pope Benedict has led hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in a giant mass, ending a week of World Youth Day festivities, which was marked by an historic papal apology, For more on this news item, please click RTE.

Priests to be asked to delay retirement
Bishop of Killaloe Dr Willie Walsh has asked four priests who have reached the retirement age of 75 to continue performing duties due to the shortage of younger clergy. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Times on Line

Rich Irish forget cash pain in Spain
Life on the Celtic Costa goes on despite the gloom at home. Even with the Celtic Tiger in its death throes, we’re still not averse to flaunting our wealth, albeit a little less conspicuously. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Igougo

Glitterati ahoy for Cork sailing week
In Cork, the traditional home of the merchant prince, you never play golf in summer because people just might think you don't own a yacht. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Paul Keal/Royal Cork Yacht Club

Too much room at the inn?
The global downturn and the weak dollar have hit the hospitality sector hard. The advertising sections of national papers now carry a stream of deals at premium hotels including The Shelbourne For more on this story, please click SB Post.
Photo Credit: DK Images

Steamy summer on the line for NI?
Steam train enthusiasts, history buffs and families looking for a day out could be making tracks across Northern Ireland this summer following the reopening of the old Belfast and County Down Railway line. For more, please click BBC.

July 19

Sisters take on mobile technology
Sisters of the Medical Missionaries of Mary pictured at the 'Meteor Mobile Usage and Gadget Session' class, part of the Drogheda Partnership. The classes, sponsored by Meteor, are intended for people over 55 who want to learn how to use mobile phones.
From the Irish Independent’s Most Popular Section - Photos of the Week

Dublin student to read at Papal Mass
Aisling O’Rourke will read at a Vigil Mass attended by Pope Benedict XVI in Australia tonight. She has been chosen for the service to mark World Youth Day, which is expected to attract a congregation of more than half a million young people.
For more details, please click Breaking News.
Photo Cedit: RTÉ

All star line-up in NYC for Taoiseach
On the balcony of the 52nd floor of 240 East 39th Street, Taoiseach Brian Cowen admired the fabulous views over New York as he chatted with some of Ireland's biggest acting stars. For more on this news item. please click Irish Independent.

Harrington soars with an eagle
A few days ago, it seemed Harrington's title challenge was over before it started. Now, almost miraculously, and helped by an eagle-birdie finish - he has moved spectacularly into contention. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: RTÉ

Strangford Lough tide power goes on the grid
The first electricity in the world made by tidal power has gone into the national grid . Enough green energy to supply 150 homes was generated as a test ahead of full-blown production. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Alternative Energy News

€170m golf club deal lands in the rough
A massive property deal that was to net the 670 full members of Clontarf Golf Club personal windfalls of €100,000 from the sale of course land is dead in the water. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Clontarf Golf Club

U2's producer reveals studio secrets
Grammy award-winning producer Steve Lillywhite was the man behind the mixing desk for U2's first three albums. Along the way, the band transformed from cocky Irish upstarts into bona fide rock stars. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit: Getty Images

July 18

Harrington weathers Open storm
Forget that injury. There was absolutely nothing limp-wristed about the performance of Padraig Harrington at Royal Birkdale yesterday as he bravely defied the vilest weather in six years with a rousing first-round. For more details. please click Irish Independent.

Puck fair revellers can party into the night
A Judge is allowing pubs to serve until 3am. As a result, Killorglin pubs will continue to remain open until 3am on the nights of August 10, 11, and 12. These opening hours are believed to be unique to the Puck Fair. For more details, please click Irish World.
Photo Credit: Lughnasa article

Byrne among Emmy nominees
Gabriel Byrne has been nominated in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category for his role as Paul in the HBO series 'In Treatment'. For more details on this story, please click RTE.

Released eagles span countryside
White-tailed sea eagles are winging it to all corners of the country. The birds, released in Killarney National Park have travelled upwards of 400km from their Kerry base. For more on this story, please click Irish Examiner.
Photo Credit & Related Story: Wild Life Extra

Ireland’s Saturday Night to close after 114 years
Ireland's Saturday Night, one of the world's oldest sports newspapers, is to cease publication. The final edition of ISN will roll off the Belfast Telegraph presses on July 26. For more on thus story, please click Belfast Telegraph.

Dream course for budding screenwriters
Writer Allegra Huston, daughter of legendary filmmaker John Huston and sister of Oscar winner Angelica, will teach at NUI Galway as part of the Huston School of Film & Digital Media Writers in Residence Programme. For more details, please click Irish World.
Photo Credit: Ian Shields
ED. NOTE: Ian is our nephew; he is a third year student at the University of Maryland and is currently taking summer courses at NUI Galway.

Theatre Review: The Sanctuary Lamp by Tom Murphy
When premiered at the Abbey Theatre in 1975, its anti-clerical slant evoked much disapproval.The passing of the years has no doubt lessened its impact. For more details please click RTE.

July 17

Taoiseach takes $18m bite of the Big Apple
During his first visit to America as Taoiseach, Brian Cowen yesterday announced that Irish companies had just sewn up $18 million worth of contracts with US firms. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTÉ

Irish praised for 'unrivalled genius'
American mag 'The Scientist', one of the world's most acclaimed science publications says Ireland has come out of a period of scientific ignorance to enter another of unrivalled genius. For more details, please click Irish World.

'It’s 50-50 I can keep going for the four days'
Open champion Padraig Harrington came to Royal Birkdale with The Claret Jug but at some point over the next four days, he's likely to return home to Ireland with a broken heart. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Bypass slashes journey times to the West
Commuters travelling from Dublin to Galway will no longer have to endure the notorious traffic bottleneck at Moate, in Co Westmeath, after the Kilbeggan bypass opened for business. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Pay & display set for Dublin rail network
CIÉ has confirmed that it plans to introduce pay and display parking at 37 stations on the greater Dublin rail network. Commuters will be charged €2 a day or a discounted rate of €8 a week. For more details, please click RTE.

Paul forges his way to top prize
A County Armagh man sent the sparks flying in Canada when he beat red-hot opposition to become the 2008 world champion blacksmith. For more on this story, please click BBC.

Town to turn blue in effort to set new Guinness record
Castleblayney in Co. Monaghan, will transform itself into a sea of blue on Friday in an attempt to get its name in the Guinness Book of Records. For more details, please click BBC.

July 16

Taoiseach to open NY Stock Exchange
Taoiseach Brian Cowen will today ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in the second leg of his trip to the United States. The Fianna Fáil leader left for the US yesterday on his first official visit since taking office. For more details, please click Breaking News.
Photo Credit: All Posters

American tourists staying away
The number of US tourists to Ireland has dropped by almost 15pc and those who do travel are spending less.The result has been a significant number of hotels advertising special offers. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Five-Star Alliance - The K Club

Uproar in Kerry as fleadh goes 'sets mad'
"We are sets mad down here". There'll be "straight sets, illicit sets, wild sets, casual sets, gay sets, unprotected sets - whatever turns you on!' So goes a radio advert for the normally conservative Munster Fleadh Cheoil. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Croom Files (for illustration purposes only)

New TV station to be launched today
Dublin Community Television (DCTV) broadcasting a range of drama, documentaries and current affairs programmes about and for the capital’s communities will be Ireland’s only advert-free station. For more details, please click Breaking News.
Photo Credit: All Posters

Ryanair set to cut Dublin flights
blaming the high price of oil and the cost of doing business at Dublin Airport, the airline is reducing the number of flights by 12%. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo Credit & Related Story: RTÉ

Weaknesses found in teaching Irish
A report compiled by inspectors from the Department of Education, found the standard of teaching and learning was 'fair to poor' in half of all primary schools classes observed. For more on this story, please click RTE.

Famous bar saved by recession
The Rotterdam Bar has been saved from demolition after the economic slowdown has put the brakes on a new luxury redevelopment which would have seen it destroyed. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo Credit: Rotterdam Bar

July 15

Seamus Brennan, RIP
The recent passing of Seamus Brennan was greeted with shock and sadness leading to many tributes to the man considered as possibly the most successful Galway politician of all time. For more details, please click Galway Advertiser.

We're a happy lot
A new survey shows there was a rise in the level of happiness in Ireland last year; but while the nation as a whole may be happier, the new economic era has put pressures on family life. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Image Shack

Fury at funeral songs ban
A new row has erupted over Catholic Church rules for funerals.
It flared up after jazz musician Paddy Cole revealed yesterday that he was not allowed to play at his mother's funeral Mass. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Aran Islands - the next new tax haven?
New tax measures, currently being considered by the European Commission on Taxation, could turn the Aran Islands and Inishbofin into the world's latest tax haven. For more on this story, please click Galway Independent.
Photo Credit: Objective Visitor

Irish film wins prestigious screening
Director Tomm Moore's animated feature 'The Secret of Kells' has been announced as the winner of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland's 'Directors Finders Series 2008'. For more details, please click RTE.

City's blooming marvellous event
A feast for at least two of the senses, there will be no fewer than 45,000 blooms on display at Dixon Park in Belfast for the city's Rose Week. For more on this story, please click BBC.

Breath-test kits can't detect new lower limit
Lower drink-driving limits will not come into effect for at least another year-and-a-half because breath-testing machines used by gardai cannot read the new alcohol level. For more details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Irish Breathalyzer Shop

July 14

Regional round-up from Antrim to Wicklow
All the news that probably won’t make the national headlines: Camelot to come to life in Limerick; tug-of-war features at Clontibret rally in Monaghan; and Cricket comes to Wicklow, courtesy of millionaire Peter Savill. To read these news items and many others, please click Irish Emigrant.
Photo credit: CAPA

President attends commemoration
The National Day of Commemoration ceremony to honour Irish men and women who died in past wars or in service with the UN was held Sunday in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. For more details, please click RTE.

Plane maker invests £500m in NI
Bombardier Aerospace is investing half a billion pounds in Northern Ireland, which will sustain over 800 jobs. The investment was announced ahead of Farnborough air show. For more details, please click BBC.

New face of Belfast's Orangemen
Instead of the traditional Orangeman wearing bowler hat and sash, they are promoting themselves with a cartoon superhero called 'Diamond Dan'. For more details, please click BBC.

Sunshine brightens Oxegen
And on the third day, there was sunshine. It was the second miracle of Oxegen; the first came just before 7pm on Saturday when Amy Winehouse took to the main stage. For details, please click Irish Independent.

Arts fans head west for festival
Thousands of tourists are expected to arrive in the west today for the start of the annual Galway Arts Festival, considered the Festival of Festivals, and a must on the arts calendar in Ireland. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Nancy reject wins West End role
I'd Do Anything reject Rachel Tucker has landed her first leading role in the West End show We Will Rock You. The Belfast actress will a be playing the role of Meat. For more details, please click BBC.
Photo credit: Just Reservations

July 1 - July 14, vacation
July 1

Rainbow Ireland now home to 188 nationalities
There are 195 independent states in the world, and people from 188 of them were living in Ireland at the time of the last census. For details, please click Irish Independent.
Photo Credit: Faces in the Crowd

Life is sweet for 16 Lotto millionaires
Sixteen quarry workers were getting used to their new millionaire status yesterday. Amazingly, some even managed to clock in for work bright and early. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.

Nelson Mandela to become an honorary graduate of Queen's
The former South African president is to be honoured with a special award from Queen's University, Belfast, at a ceremony on Tuesday evening. For more details, please click BBC.

New Belfast branding aims to make city world class
The new brand is spearheaded by a heart-shaped B logo, accompanied by messages including the word 'be' — such as 'be welcome', 'be part of it', and 'be vibrant'. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.

New mayors for Dublin & Wexford
Fianna Fáil Councillor Eibhlin Byrne has been elected as the new Lord Mayor of Dublin City. She received a total of 29 votes following a pact with the Labour group on Dublin City Council. For more details, please click RTE.

Irish stars confirmed for the World Fleadh
Sharon Shannon, Mundy, Damien Dempsey and Shane McGowan are some of the big names lined up to perform at the World Fleadh in Portlaoise, Co Laois, which takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. For more details, please click RTE.
Photo Credit: Moneypenny Music

RTÉ's Fáilte Towers now taking bookings
Fancy being waited on hand and foot by a brigade of hassled celebrities?
The new RTÉ series 'Fáilte Towers' is set to offer members of the public the chance to be just that. For more details, please click RTE.

June 30

Regional round-up from Antrim to Wicklow
All the news that probably won’t make the national headlines: annual agricultural show coming to Cavan this weekend; free petrol packages at hotel in Galway “highly successful”; and traditional Novena goes hi-tech in Limerick. To read these news items and many others, please click Irish Emigrant.
Photo Cedit: All Posters

Quarry syndicate lucky €19m jackpot winners?
Rumours were rife in Carlow that the group of workers at Dan Morrissey Irl Ltd, had bought the winning ticket for Ireland's biggest ever Lotto prize. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

No evidence of recession at Derby
Recession - What recession? Tell that to the helicopter pilots who ferried the rich and famous to the Curragh for the 143rd Irish Derby yesterday. For more on this story, please click Irish Independent.
Related Story: Frozen Fire scorches to Derby victory

Kennedy Smith recalls 'wonderful memories' of brother's visit
Forty five years after she and her late brother stood a few steps from here and soaked up the rapture of an adoring crowd, Jean Kennedy Smith returned to the windy quayside at New Ross yesterday. For more details, please click Irish Times.
Photo Credit: Robert Knudsen, White House, in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

Thousands getting lost at Newgrange despite hi-tech
Thousands of visitors are getting lost on the way to Newgrange every year.
That's despite €30,000 being spent on a report over two years ago recommending ways to improve the signs to the famous megalithic tomb. For more details, please click Belfast Telegraph.
Photo credit: Adam Woolfitt

Ultra green NI school wins top grade first
A Co. Down primary school has become the first building in the UK to be awarded the top grade in a government energy efficiency scheme. For more details, please click BBC.

Theatre Review: Three Sisters
Adapted by Brian Friel from the play by Chekhov, Three Sisters' is no less uncompromising in its depiction of human frailty, and while Friel's adaptation does lighten the load with witty exchanges that hit the mark by way of expertly delivered comic timing, he is only too aware that happiness is an unobtainable goal. For more details, please click RTE.

June 29

€19m winning Lotto ticket sold in Carlow
The single winning ticket was a €32 multidraw Quick Pick bought in Hickson's supermarket on the Staplestown Road. It is estimated that more than 3,500 people bought a ticket every minute during peak time in the run up to last night's draw. For more details, please click RTE.

New Down & Connor bishop to be ordained
Monsignor Noel Treanor is to be ordained as the new Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor at St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast. For more details, please click BBC.

Viking ship departs today
Celebrations to mark the departure of the Sea Stallion take place today at Custom House Quay with refreshments and music from Irish and Danish musicians. For more details, please click Havhingsten.
Photo Credit: Sea Stallion

Runner completes Mizen-Malin challenge
Richard Donovan from Galway has finished the equivalent of 14 marathons in five days, 13 hours and 23 minutes, completing a 365-mile run from Mizen Head in Co Cork to Malin Head in Co Donegal. For more details, please click RTE.
Photo credit: Run the Country

Oh so diplomatic Judith
The Co Fermanagh woman crowned the new Miss Northern Ireland has revealed she wants to spend the coming year being the best ambassador she can be for her country. For more on this story, please click Sunday Life.

Transforming old duds into new threads
The recession has returned. And with impeccable timing, this weekend the TechoThreads exhibition at the Science Gallery, Trinity College held a "Swap-A-Rama-Rama" giant clothing swap and do-it-yourself workshop. For more details, please click Irish Independent.

Book Review: 30 Irish Adventures by Padraic Woods
Did you know you can go whale hunting, wake boarding, coaststeering and blokarting in Ireland? '30 Irish Adventures' is a 192-page description of numerous, year-round activities on offer. For more details, please click RTE.